The Winds of Time
by DisneySeeker
Summary: This is a Quest for Camelot cross-over fanfiction story starring my QFC OC, Kia, the daughter of Kayley and Garrett and the many friends she meets, places she goes, and adventures she has.
1. Prolouge

The darkness of night covered the kingdom of Camelot with the exception of the full moon that seemed to be the only light in the night. Everyone within the city lay fast asleep in their beds. No lights to be seen within the homes and many rooms of the castle in the center of the city except for the bright light of a small candle in one of the high towers in the castle.

Inside the large room at a wooden desk sat an older man with short white hair and a long white beard. He was dressed completely in a long dark forest green hooded cloak and the expression of a deep frown seemed engraved on his face. Sitting in front of him was a small black ink bottle, a feathered pen, and a open journal.

The man dumped his feathered ink pen into the bottle before beginning to write out his broading thoughts on the white pieces of paper within the journal. _'17 years have passed since Kayley and Garret became knights and Camelot has long since flourished but I fear our world is changing, things cannot stay this way much longer. I fear for their daughter as I am lost in how to help her. She knows nothing of the plans being made for her...Perhaps it is best I do nothing... Let things be the way they should...Give her strength Lionel for tomorrow she will find that nothing she knew will ever be the same again...'_ he thought as he wrote in the book. Once finished he closed the book and let out a loud sigh walking over to the window and shaking his head.


	2. Chapter 1

The sun shone down brightly the next morning for everyone who was just getting up or going about their usual routines of the day. Everyone that is except three individuals.

Out in the fields not far from the castle a two headed dragon was showing off their flight skills to a young girl about the age of 16 sitting on a large grey boulder in the grass.

The girl had long raven black hair, fair colored skin, and soft blue eyes. She giggled and clapped shouting "Bravo" as the two headed dragon did a backwards flip while flying through in the air. The dragons landed gracefully on the ground with soft thud sound. "Thank you my dear, but don't you think you should head back to your schooling now" The taller headed one, by the name of Devon, says. "Schooling? That boring stuff! Why should she do that when she is having a more fun time out here?" the shorter headed one, by the name of Cornwall, argued.

"Boring? I'll have you know schooling is one of the most important things for a girl of her age!" Devon yelled right back. "So let it wait for some other day right Kia?" Cornwall replied. "Well schooling is important-" "There you see!" Devon interrupts. "But it's too much of a nice day to waste inside learning History and all that other stuff" Kia adds. "Told ya!" Cornwall replies. Before Kia could add another word the two dragons began yelling and hitting each other. Kia smiled and shook her head. _'Same old Devon and Cornwall' _she thought to herself.

She sat back down on the boulder watching them fight and argue knowing the best thing to do was to let them duke it out until they were finished. She jumped slightly as she heard someone behind her clear their throat in an impatient manner. "Oh! Uh hi Merlin" she says nervously, her cheeks pink with embarrsement as she noticed the one who had startled her was only the old friendly wizard and advisor to King Arthur. "If you're quite finished my dear, I would like a word with you alone" he says. "Oh yes of course." She says standing up and following Merlin back to his tower to chat._ 'What did I do now?' _she wondered to herself.

She turned back a moment to face Devon and Cornwall wondering if she should interrupt their arguement to tell them she was leaving but decided not to for fear of keeping the wizard waiting any longer on her.

The walk to the Merlin's tower seemed like a long and quiet one for Kia as pondered what exactly Merlin wished to speak to her about. The wondering and worrying about it made her feel very uneasy though she tried hard not to show it. On and on they walked up the long flight of stairs all the way up to the top where only a wall remained. Confused, Kia was about to ask how on earth would they go through a wall but Merlin silenced her by putting his right hand up. "Patience my dear" he says before pulling a hidden cord to the left of the wall. Kia stared amazed as a large pathway in the wall opened up allowing them to enter. Merlin chuckled at the girl's amazement. "Come along my dear" he says. Kia shook her head to snap out of it before following him into what appeared to be a large study room.

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable" He says to her. She nodded taking a look around the room. Alongside the wall to the far left of her was a large black oak bookcase filled with so many books, probably more than Kia had seen in her entire lifetime. There were language books, history books, and even magic books. She let her fingers trace along the edge of the books as she read their titles. "You have a such a nice broad range of books you know" she says. "Yes" Merlin says nodding. She turned turned attention to the center of the room where his desk was, so clean and organized, she couldn't help but to admire the old wizard's tidiness.

She slowly walked past the desk to the far right of the room where another large shelf stood this one however was filled with all kinds of potions locked behind a glass case. "What do these do?" she asks him curiousity getting the best of her. "Nothing you need to worry about but I will give you this warning, never touch any of them understand?" He replies in a stern tone as he sat down in a chair. Kia was taken aback a moment by the tone of his voice. "Yes sir" she says. "Good, now come and sit" he says motioning for her to come and sit down in the chair in front of him. She nods walking over and sitting in the chair.

"Brace yourself for I have something very important to tell you" he says


	3. Chapter 2

She nodded taking a deep breath in a better attempt to brace herself. Merlin smiled as he heard soft knocking on the large oak door, on the other end of the room, opposite from the way she and Merlin had enter only moments earlier. "Come in" he said. By the tone of his voice and the smile on his face Kia guessed he was expecting company, despite what he had said earlier about talking to her alone.

Slowly the door opened to reveal, Kia's mother and father, Lady Kayley and Sir Garrett. As they walked in and sat down on either side of her, in the wooden chairs placed out for them, it was very clear they knew or at least had some clue to whatever it was that was going on but they were not happy about it one bit, especially Garrett.

"You wanted to speak to us Merlin?" Kayley asks speaking first.

"Yes, it's about daughter, Kia" Merlin replies. "As I mentioned to you earlier, you might recall, I think it's about time your daughter head off on her own for awhile" He adds after a moment of collecting his thoughts.

"You're sending me away? Did I do something wrong?" Kia immediately outbursts. Her fear and surprise not at all hidden from her tone of voice.

"Of course not." Garrett replies in a stern tone. He hadn't liked the idea ever since he first heard it and still did not like it even now.

"Do not be so rash as to make a decision Sir Garrett, I assure you this is for your daughter's own good. Do not forget it was by being on your own that you turned out as skillful as you are now." Merlin replies in a calm demeanor.

"I'm not being rash, I just don't think it's wise sending her off on her own to who knows where or who knows how long" Garrett replies in a slightly more calm tone.

Merlin only ignored him and turned to Kayley who had remained quiet the entire time. She was looking at the stone tile floor of the room as if ashamed or hiding something. "Lady Kayley?"

"I agree with Merlin" she finally says looking back up.

"What?" Kia and Garrett reply in unsion. Clearly neither of them had expected her to agree with him at all.

"She needs to go off on her own for awhile to experience new places and new things, I know I did and that's how I met you" Kayley says turning to face Garrett.

Kayley and Garrett seemed to stare at each other in silence. She needed Garrett to trust her that she and Merlin were doing this because it what was best for Kia.

Kia looked at her parents for a moment in silence._ 'I can't believe this is happening' _she thought to herself. It was like her entire world was now spinning rapidly out of control and she had no way of stopping it. "Don't I have a say in any of this?" Kia spoke up.

"Of course you do, Kia but before you decide I want you to think it over. This is a big opportunity for you to meet new friends and see new places. I just don't want you to throw that away" Kayley tells her gently placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder to calm her a little.

Kia looked away facing the book shelf with all the books on it._ 'Mom is right I could be passing up a great experience but I don't want to leave home either. Where will I go and who knows how long I'll be gone? What if I can never come back home?' _she thought to herself.

As if he could read his daughter's thoughts, Garrett spoke up saying "Suppose she did agree to go, where would she go and how long would she be gone?"

Kia turned back to face Merlin both she and her parents were waiting for an answer from the old wizard.

Merlin looked down and closed his eyes for a moment thinking over a response to their questions. When he came up with one he opened his eyes and said "She will leave tonight and return every spring and winter spending the summer and fall on her own" He looked up at Kayley and Garrett keeping perfect eye contact with them as he added "However I will leave it to you to decide where she will go"

Kayley and Garrett both looked at each other as if they shared the same thoughts. The first place that came to their mind was the Forbidden Forest but they wouldn't dare send her there. It was much too dangerous. The second place that they thought of was Dragon Country but they didn't trust her being alone there either.

"Agrabah?" Garrett mumbled to Kayley. His voice was barely above a whisper. She remained silent for a couple moments closing her eyes tightly as if fighting back a painful memory that was brought up at the mere mention of the name.

"Very well" Merlin spoke. He seemed to be quite pleased with their answer. He turned to face Kia. "What do you think my dear?" he asks.

"It's so far..." was the first thing that came out of Kia's mouth. She still felt quite overwhelmed by the events that were starting to now unfold.

"Yes but that's what makes it a good decision. Remember the journey through a thousand miles always begins with the first step." Merlin told her.

"I-I'd better go pack my things..." Kia said wanting nothing more than an excuse for her to leave the room while she could still keep what was left of her composure.

"I understand" Merlin says dismissing her.

Kia slowly walked out of the room. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She was leaving home. No she was being sent away from home! And not only that but she was being sent away by her very own parents! As she descended down the long flight of steps a thought suddenly occurred to her. _'I don't even know where Agrabah is!'_

Watching her daughter leave down the flight of steps made Kayley's heart feel like it had shattered into a thousand pieces. "She's taking it so hard..." She mummered to herself fighting hard to resist the urge to fall to her knees and cry. She had betrayed her daughter. Her daughter needed her to stick up for her but she failed her.

"I know this is hard for you both but I assure you she will be just fine" Merlin said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I hope so..." Kayley mumbled. Suddenly she knew exactly how her mom felt about when she sent her off to find the sword excalibur so many years ago.

Merlin walked back into his study giving Kayley some alone time with her thoughts as Garrett walked out next to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "Though I still don't quite agree to this whole thing I know she'll be just fine."

Kayley turned around to face him her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "How can you be so sure?" she asks her voice cracking with emotion

"Because she's your daughter" He replies with a small smile hugging her to comfort her.

Meanwhile Kia had met up with Devon and Cornwall outside the tower, both dragons had apparently been waiting for her to return.

"So what did that know it all wizard have to say?" Cornwall asks.

Kia swallowed hard in a desperate attempt to control the emotion that was building up out of control inside her. She fought hard to hide away the sadness in her voice and the sadness of the knowledge that she she soon would have to say good-bye to her friends, Devon and Cornwall. "He said that I have to go on a little trip...by myself" she says as she walks briskly back towards her room.

"By yourself? When?' Devon asks concerned.

"Tonight" Kia replies.

"Tonight? You can't leave tonight!" Cornwall yells in response.

Devon quickly covers his mouth. "What my lower half meant to say was why so soon and where will you be going?"

"Agrabah." Kia replies her voice now starting to crack and tears forming in her eyes that was now beginning to cloud her vision as she walked.

"Agrabah? Where the heck is that?" Cornwall says knocking Devon's hand away from his mouth.

"I- I d-don't know" Kia says failing to keep her voice controlled. She stopped dead in her tracks closing her eyes tightly no longer able to fight the tears that were coming.

"Kia, are you alright?" Devon asks as he notices Kia wipe away tears that were starting to fall from her eyes.

"Guys, I- I r-really don't w- w-wanna t-talk about th-this now o-okay" she says her voice choaking with her tears. Before either of them could reply she ran off from them. She didn't mean to be hurt their feelings by doing this but she really felt like she needed to be alone for a moment to let this all sink in and to pack her things.

Cornwall only stared silently as Kia ran off from them, it was clear he felt a little bad, not that he would admit it of course.

"Oh dear. Maybe one of us should go talk to her" Devon said feeling incredibly bad for Kia.

"Let me talk to her" Kayley says as she walked up behind them.

They both nodded watching Kayley walk after her daughter. After all who better to talk to her and calm her down then her own mother.


	4. Chapter 3

Kayley walked up to her daughter's bedroom door and knocked softly on the door.

"Please, I don't want to see anybody" Kia said in a muffled tone from inside the room. Her face was down in the pillow she had been crying on. Sitting up and using the back of her hand she wiped away the tears that were still rolling down her cheeks. Sitting against the side of her bed was a bag that so far contained a couple pairs of clothes that she herself had packed inside it.

Kayley let out a small sigh before opening the door quietly shutting it behind her. She looked over at her daughter who now sat with her back facing her. Slowly she walked over and sat down beside her.

After a long moment of silence passed between them Kia finally turned to face her mother. She had so many questions she needed to ask her like _'Why was she making her do this?' _or _'Why did she have to go to Agrabah of all places?'._

"I know you're upset about all of this" Kayley spoke first keeping her voice soft and soothing as she placed her hand gently on her daughter's shoulder.

"I just don't understand why you're sending me away like this. I mean yes I know I skipped class a couple times but I never meant to and-" Kia began to ramble but was cut off by the sound of her mom's laughter.

"What's so funny?" She asked not sure why her mom was now laughing at her.

"Garrett, Merlin, and I aren't doing this to as a punishment so you don't need to feel that way about it." Kayley replied with a smile.

"Okay then tell me the real reason I have to do this." Kia says

Kayley's smile at that moment faded. She had always knew this day would come but she had always hoped it never would. And now that it had she was afraid it had all come much too soon.

"Before I tell you I want you to remember that I never meant for any of it to go this way and I hope you don't hate me for it either."

Kia nodded though she already knew she didn't like where this was going.

"Soon after Garrett and I were knighted, I was given a mission to go find a missing princess on my own. Even though I was resentful to do it I knew I had to leave anyway. My mission took me far away from Camelot to an almost uninhabited jungle."

She stopped for a moment tightly closing her eyes. It was incredibly hard for her to tell her daughter this. The only one she had ever told about this was her own mother, she hadn't even told Garrett...Well not the whole story anyway. Only after a few moments passed by did she then continue.

"I found the princess, whose name was Rose Porter, she had been captured at a trading post but on my first attempt to rescue her I ended up getting captured myself. Several weeks of failed escape attempts had passed by before Rose and I were rescued by a 19 year old Arab prince by the name of Ali. After Ali and I had returned Rose home safely he insisted on accompanying me back to Camelot and, only because I wanted someone to travel with, I agreed."

Again Kayley paused. Kia said nothing however as he began to realize where this was going.

"As we traveled together he told me about Agrabah, the kingdom which he lived in, and I told him about Garrett and Camelot. A couple days before we reached Camelot we found ourselves captured again by thieves. The capture only lasted a couple days but those days were filled with torture...I didn't realize exactly what had happened until five months of being married to Garrett had passed by...I was always too ashamed to tell him the truth or to tell you" Kayley finished hanging her head in shame.

Kia remained silent for a moment. This was so hard for her to believe but she knew it was the truth. Her mother wouldn't just make this stuff up after all. Finally she had to ask "Does dad know?"

"No. The only ones who know about this is you, me, and my mother though I do suspect that Merlin knows as well."

"So this Ali guy is my actual biological father?" Kia asked.

"Yes...and I am only sending you there so you can meet him since I promised him in a letter that I would." Kayley replied.

Now it all made sense to Kia. Her mother was only trying to stick by her word and was suffering from a secret she had kept for 16 years. 16 very long years. And even though part of her wanted to be mad at her she couldn't be. It just wasn't in her nature to hate someone, especially her mother.

_'This wasn't her fault'_ she reminded herself.

"How does dad know about Agrabah then?" Kia asked her mother. Even though Garrett might not be her biological dad anymore she silently vowed that he was and would still always be her father regardless.

"I told him everything except the part about you" Kayley replied. "I know I should've told him and I should've told you but I was just so afraid and ashamed that I could never bring myself to do it."

"...I am not mad at you I just wish I didn't have to leave..." Kia says hanging her head.

"I know sweetie." Kayley replied hugging her daughter. "But I promise it won't be so bad or as long as you think"

"How do you know that?" Kia asked.

"I don't but what I do know is that new friends turn up in the most unexpected places." Kayley replied.

Kia gives her a small fake smile. "I'd better finish getting ready" she says.

"Would you like me to help?" Kayley asks.

"No that's okay. I can handle it." she replies

Her mother nods before leaving the room.

As soon as Kia finished packing she lied down on her bed looking up at the ceiling. Everything she had learned today still weighed heavily on her and left her with a slight headache. She didn't take her mother's advice seriously but if she had she would've realized how right her mother was.

She sat up hearing her bedroom door open once more. Standing in the doorway was her best friend, Blake.

"Devon and Cornwall told me you're leaving.." He said. He sounded both hurt and angry though Kia was sure it was not directed at her but rather directed to the fact that she was leaving and that they wouldn't see each other again for a long time.

Kia got up off her bed walking over to him and hugging him tightly. "I'll miss you too." She told him once again feeling her heart break from this sudden and new drastic change to her life.

He hugged her back. "Promise me you'll write every day."

"You know I will." Kia told him softly.

"It's time." Came Garrett's voice outside the room.

Kia and Blake looked at each other for several long moments before Kia went and grabbed her bag following her best friend and father down the hall.


	5. Chapter 4

As Kia walked off into the night she dared not look behind her and see the kingdom of Camelot, her home, way off in the distance for the fear that she would want to run back.

_'Come on Kia, buck up. This won't be so bad. I mean who knows you might make some new friends along the way right?' _she thought to herself to try and keep her spirits up.

For the most part her effort was a success. As she continued on following the main road further and further away from the home she had always known.

On and on she walked until she was sure she couldn't walk anymore.

"Well, I guess I'd better set up camp for the night" She mumbled out loud to herself.

Because it was a warm clear night she felt she did not need to set up a tent so she set out a sleeping bag to sleep in instead.

"Now for the food" she mumbled again as she dug in her bag for a small snack. She pulled out a couple apples to eat, not feeling much hungry to eat anything else and wanting to ration her food supply.

After eating her small snack she hid her pack in her sleeping bag with her before drifting off to sleep.

_Kia found herself in an wide open grassy field lying in the grass looking up at the bright blue sky._

_''Kia!" a shadowy figure called to her._

_She sat up and smiled. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the unknown figure hugging him before leaning in for-_

**SQUAWK!**

Kia sat up awake and slightly annoyed as a bird squawked loudly in a tree above her.

"Thanks a lot, I was having a nice dream you know'' She said glaring up at the bird who only seemed to cackle back at her in response. She grumbled something unaudible under her breath before she got up and pulled her pack out of the sleeping bag. Afterward she rolled up her sleeping bag and grabbed another snack out to eat for breakfast.

As she ate however she could only think about the dream she had had last night.

_'I've never had one like that before...It was so nice and peaceful though...Certainly make believe but it seemed so real and-_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt her cheeks become warm from blushing.

_'I wonder who that guy was...'_ She finished her thought as she stood up.

Putting the rolled up sleeping bag in her pack, she slipped the pack over her shoulder and continued on walking into the heat of the day.

The rest of the day went on like the night before until she reached a small nearby town.

"I'll just get a ride for the rest of the way..." She mumbled hating herself for not thinking about borrowing a horse when she left in the first place which would've saved her all this trouble.

As a couple walked past her she asked "Excuse I was wondering if you could-" she stopped as they continued walking on past her not even giving her a glance. "Hm..guess not" she mumbled. Before looking for another person to ask.

"Psst. Hey. Over here" A man whispered hiding in the shadows of a small alleyway.

Kia hesitated looking around as if she was looking for anyone else the man could be talking too. When she didn't see anyone she looked back at the man pointing to herself.

"Yeah, you. Come here." he says still keeping his voice low so no one else could hear him.

_'Oh please don't let this come back to bite me...' _She thought to herself as she nervously walked over to the man praying it wouldn't be the last thing she ever did.

When she got closer she could make out that the man was only about a foot or two taller than her and was dressed in old rags leaving her to come to the conclusion that he was an old beggar of some sort.

"You're new around her aren't ya?" He says with a wide grin chuckling slightly.

Kia was taken aback for a moment. "It's that obvious?" She asks backing up as she started to get the feeling maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Couldn't miss it if I tried" he says moving quickly as he roughly pinned her against the wall behind her.

"What are you doing?" Kia asks as she struggled in an attempt to get out of the man's hold.

"Don't worry dearie, this won't hurt a bit" He says with a grin as he pulled a dagger out of his pocket preparing to kill her.

Kia's eyes widen in absolute fear before she closed them tightly bracing herself for the impact. She opened her eyes after a moment however when she heard the man grunt in pain.

"Are you alright my dear?" A middle aged man asks her as the other man ran off clutching his side.

"Yes, I'm fine" Kia says not trusting her rescuer. Which he must've sensed because he glared at her shaking his head muttering something about people not appreciative as they used to be anymore and left.

Kia let out a exasperated sigh. _'That was a close one..' _she thought to herself as she started to walk away, her shadow moved slightly revealing a golden glimmer in the corner of her eye; she looked back into the alley and saw a gold necklace shining weakly in the sunlight.

It was made out of pure gold and contained many beautifully colored jewels all the way around it except for in the center where a larger red ruby was.

"It's beautiful..." She says completely entranced by it's sheer beauty. She bent down to pick it up but before she knew what was happening she was blinded by a bright flash of yellow light and seemed to completely vanish without a trace.


	6. Chapter 5

_'Hippie? How dare they call me a Hippie? Okay yes I have gone from a teenager who never cared about anyone else to trying to stop people from logging down trees in Ferngully but that doesn't make me a hypie...does it?'_

A blonde haired mullet teenager thought as walked away from tree logging building site. He let out a exasperated sigh hanging his head. It was now a little past sundown but just a couple hours earlier he had stormed into the building demanding a meeting with the manager only to be publicly humiliated and thrown out on the curb by security.

"Yet another failure...that makes 10 just this week...I am beginning to think I never should've left the Rainforest..." He mumbled to himself not really caring at the moment if any of the people walking past him were staring at him or if they had heard him.

As he walked alongside the curb trying to figure out what he should do next he found himself momentarily blinded by a flash of a bright yellow light. Out of reflex he tightly closed his eyes and lifted his arm up to his face to shield his eyes.

After a moment the light vanished and the teen then looked around for the source of the light finding nothing but what he did see shocked him. Sitting there in the middle of the street, like a deer caught in front of headlights, was a girl around the same age as he was and a drunken truck driver talking on his cell phone heading straight for her.

Letting out a growl of frustration whilst thinking_ 'I can't believe I am doing this...' _he ran out into the street as fast as his legs would carry him pushing the girl out of harms way with the two of them just barely missing the truck.

Pinned down on top of her, he sat there panting for a moment as the girl stared at him as if she had no idea what had just happened.

Once he managed to catch his breath he yelled "What did you think you were doing? You've been killed!" and added _'Not to mention kill me' _to himself.

"I-I-" she stuttered.

The man mumbled something unaudible before taking a deep breath to calm down having the feeling that everyone was now staring at them. "Look I didn't mean to yell..." He mumbles to her.

The girl nodded staring into his eyes. They were like a muddy pool of brown but there was just something about them that made her smile.

Uncomfortable by the silence the male teen said "Well say something will ya?''

"Can you get off me now please?" She spoke.

"Oh...right. Sorry." He spoke embarrassed that he had forgotten he was still on top of her before moving off of her and sitting down beside her.

"And I'm sorry for staring but it's just that you seem familiar to me somehow and...let's just forget I said that...I'm Kia" She says extending her hand for him to shake "And you are?"

"Zak." He replies before shaking her hand. "And you're welcome" he adds.

Both of the teens then stood up and Kia could only stare at Zak as he brushed himself off. The words her mother had told her not too long ago ringing in her ears. _New friends turn up in the most unexpected places._

_'I guess she was right'_ She thought to herself.

"So what were you doing sitting there in the first place?" Zak asks her.

"Well it's a bit of a long story..." Kia says looking down at her feet.

Getting the feeling she didn't want to talk about he changed the subject. "So uh...where are you from anyway?"

Hesitantly she replied "I'm from...uh...well let's just say not from around here."

"Yeah I can tell." Zak replies

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kia asks slightly offended.

Zak chuckles for a moment before replying "Well I what I meant was that I can tell from the way you are dressed."

"The way I'm dressed? What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Well you look like you just came out of a Renaissance Fair or something" Zak says with a smile.

"Oh. Uh...right" She replies while thinking to herself_ 'What's a Renaissance Fair?'_

"Well I'll see you later then" Zak says turning the opposite way about to walk off.

"Zak?"

"Yeah?" Zak says turning around to face her once again.

"Okay I know this is going to sound pretty strange but I don't have a place to stay for the night and I was wondering if-"

"I knew somewhere you could stay right?" Zak finishes for her knowing exactly what she was getting at.

She bites her bottom lip and nodded. She really did feel stupid at the moment and even though she couldn't exactly explain why she felt as though she could trust this guy. He did help her out a couple moments ago after all.

"Funny you should ask that. I live in an apartment building a couple blocks down from here. My parents are out of town for the weekend and we have a spare bedroom so if you'd like you can crash there for the night." Zak says.

"You're sure I won't be a bother?"

"Naw. I used to have people stay over all the time. But first how about we stop by one of my favorite resturants for a nice meal huh?"

Kia smiled. "I liked that" she says.

"Great. Follow me." Zak says leading her down the block to a cross walk.

As they waited for the walk symbol to appear on the other side Kia had to say "You know you don't have to do this."

"Yeah I know but I don't mind. Besides I am a lousy cook." Zak says.

Kia giggled before replying "Yeah me too."

"And don't worry it's on the house." Zak says as the walk symbol appeared on the other side.

Kia followed closely behind him as they walked across the street wanting to avoid another accident with another vehicle. Of course she didn't know that it was a vehicle, to her it was more like some strange mechanical beast with glowing yellow eyes that liked to attack people.

Upon reaching the other end of the sidewalk she couldn't help but look around at all buildings. They were so different than what she was used to. In fact everything was different than what she was used to.

There were strange metal poles that stood beside them at the moment that sent light colored signals to the one in the middle of the road. The signals flashed red, yellow, and green and somehow controlled all of the mechanical beasts.

The road path itself was separated by some form of hard stone that they walked on and the other had painted yellow and white lines on a black path the mechanical beasts walked on.

As she looked at everything around her Zak turned to face her and asked "Is everything alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Just looking around. This place is much different than what I am used to."

"Well this is typically what cities tend to look like you know that is... unless you aren't from a city?"

"Oh no. I am from the city just not one well...like this."

Zak arched an eyebrow completely confused as to what she meant exactly. "Uh huh."

"Uh perhaps we should press on...?" She spoke to change the subject and avoid further questioning.

Zak nods. "The resturant is still another block from here but I am telling you it has the best food in town."

"If you don't mind me asking why did you help me back there?" Kia asks as they continued on walking.

"Well to be honest I couldn't just stand by and watch you turn into road kill" Zak says.

Kia nodded.

"And no offense but you sort of remind me of someone I used to know." Zak says

"Oh. Like who?" Kia asks.

"Uh...well...her name was Crysta actually and she...well let's just say she is not the kind of girl you would expect.''

"Did you like her?" Kia asked out loud without thinking she did until after it was too late to take it back.

At first Zak didn't answer. He looked away for a moment and sighed. "Yeah...but it never would've worked out anyway we were just too different" He says.

Feeling bad for asking without thinking she said "I'm sorry"

"Ah it's okay. I'm getting over it you know?"

"Yeah."

They walked in complete silence the rest of the way until the reached the resturant.

Kia couldn't help but to look up at it in pure awe. The resturant was far bigger than any pub with it's large bright red doors, large shiny glass windows, and huge lighted sign that read Café Avanti.

"Looks pretty nice doesn't it?" Zak asks her snapping her out of it.

"Yeah it does." She says about to open the door.

"No this way. I have a little private entrance of my own" Zak says taking her around the back.

He led her to a back door where he knocked yelling. "Tony! Ralph!"

A moment later two men open the door dressed in a couple of white cooking outfits.

"Hey Zak, work up an appetite?" One of the men, the smaller and thinner one, asks.

"Absolutely" Zak says with a grin.

"And I see you brought a friend" The other guy much more taller and bigger than the other says.

Zak nods. "This is Kia, Kia these are two pals of mine Tony and Ralph who I used to work with"

"It's a pleasure to meet you both" Kia says.

"No no the pleasure is all ours right Tony?" Ralph, the smaller guy, says.

Tony nods before bending down to whisper to Zak. "You should bring her around more often if you know what I mean"

Zak fought the urge to blush as he sent Tony a glare.

Unaffected by the glare Tony only laughed before saying "Let me guess Zak the usual?"

"Actually I had something different in mind" Zak says turning to face Kia.

Ralph nods handing the two of them a menu before leading them inside and over to a table for two.

Zak sits down in his chair glaring at Tony who pulled out the chair for Kia.

"Thank you" she says to him with a smile gently sitting down before Ralph gently pushed the chair in.

Zak shook his head a little annoyed by Tony and Ralph's gestures.

Kia giggled at Zak's expression before opening up her menu.

Zak followed her in the gesture. "I'll start off with a nice cola, how about you Kia?"

"Just water for me thanks" she says not wanting to point out with the drinks water was the best choice she had heard of besides the more special occassion drinks like Rum, Wine, or Champagne.

While Tony and Ralph went to fetch the two teens some drinks, Zak decided to take the time to get to know his new friend a little more.

"So Kia what brings you to the grand ol' down under anyway?'' He asked.

_'Down under? What a strange name for a place...Oh great he's staring, I'd better say something quick!' _She thought to herself before replying "Oh you know um just passing through..."

"Oh really? Where are you headed to?" He asks.

"Well um...well it's like this you see uh..." She stammered and was more than relieved when Tony and Ralph returned with their beverages saving her from having to explain a very complicated story that even she herself couldn't make sense of at the moment.

"Here's your Cola, Zak" Ralph says handing him a tall glass with a white straw sticking out of the top.

"And your water, Kia" Tony adds handing her a similar glass with the exception of it filled with water instead of soda.

"Thanks guys" Zak says before taking a sip.

"Yes thank you very much" Kia adds before copying Zak's gesture taking a sip of her own drink.

"Are you two ready to order the rest of your meal?" Tony asks.

Zak and Kia looked at each other for a moment swallowing nervously before picking up their menus again.

As Kia glanced through the menu she wasn't sure what she wanted to eat exactly there were so many meals that she had never heard of but the pictures beside them made them look delicious.

_'Maybe I should let him decide after all he is the one paying for the meal...' _she thought to herself before looking back at Zak who was still scanning over his menu.

As he scanned his menu he couldn't help but remind himself that this was his first time ever bringing a girl into a resturant with him especially a fancy place like this and he wanted to make a good decision on a meal.

_'Don't want to come on too strong...' _He thought to himself but he also didn't want to pick something totally cheap either.

Finally he spotted the perfect meal...okay maybe it might be a little to cliche but it wasn't very expensive and didn't seem to send a _'I am trying to impress you message' _which was good enough for him.

"Tony, Ralph, we'll have number 26, heavy on the meat balls." He said.

The two men grinned in return before walking off.

Having become curious Kia glanced at her menu quickly for the number 26.

"I hope you don't mind I ordered Spaghetti for us" Zak says to her.

"Oh no, of course not" Kia says closing her menu placing it down on the table gently.

A moment of silence passed between the two of them as they waited for their meal. They stared silently into each others eyes for what seemed like to be forever.

Finally Tony and Ralph returned with their meal, taking their menus and leaving them to enjoy it in peace.

"Bon Appetite" Zak says with a grin as he took his fork and began to eat his meal.

Kia smiled before picking up her fork.

The meal seemed to go by quickly for the two of them. It was as if time had just flown by right before their eyes. The two were smiling staring deeply into each other's eyes as Tony and Ralph walked up to them.

"Hey, love birds how was the meal?" Tony asks snapping them out of it.

"We're not- that is-she's not my-" Zak stammers.

Kia cut him off as she replied "The meal was lovely, thank you"

"Glad to hear it" Ralph says.

"Yeah especially since we don't normally get that kind of order" Tony adds as he elbowed Zak chuckling.

Zak glared before clearing his throat standing up. "Well we'd better be going" He says as he pulled out his wallet to pay for the meal.

"You don't have to pay, it's on the house" Ralph says.

"Really?" Kia and Zak reply in usion surprised.

"Yeah so long as you two do us a little favor" Tony adds.

"I knew there was a catch" Zak mumbles before adding "What did you have in mind?"

"Let's walk and talk shall we?" Ralph says gesturing the two of them to follow.

Zak and Kia look at each other shrug their shoulders and follow.

_'I better not have to do anything embarrsing' _Zak thought to himself.


	7. Chapter 6

"Right this way." Ralph said with a huge grin as he led them inside the resturant through the back door entrance that Zak had knocked on earlier.

"I'm not going to regret this am I?" Zak felt obligated to ask as he still had a bad feeling about what it was Tony and Ralph wanted he and Kia to do instead of paying for their meal.

"That depends. Do you have any stage fright?" Tony asked him with a huge grin like Ralph's though his looked much more sly and devious to Zak.

"Stage fright? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Zak demanded to know though he was sure he already knew the answer and that he wasn't going to like it.

"Well you see, buddy, our act for the show tonight skipped out on us and left us without any entertainment for the dinner guests here at the resturant so we figured-" Tony started to explain it to Zak placing his arm over his shoulder like they were best friends until Zak cut him off.

"Oh no! Nu-uh! Not happening! You're out of your mind if you honestly think I am gonna get on that stage and preform to pay off my bill!"

Kia didn't speak it openly but she wasn't at all shocked like Zak was about the idea of preforming to pay off the bill since back where she was from it was very common for someone who had no money to work it off by whatever task they had been asked to do. This time instead of the usual cleaning or manual labor it was singing which actually sounded a lot more fun and easier.

"Oh? And what does your lady friend have to say?" Tony asked turning to face Kia for her answer.

Zak and Ralph turned to face her awaiting for her answer as well. From the looks on Tony and Ralph's face Zak was sure they were hoping she would agree to it and make him do it too but he was hoping for the exact opposite.

"I think it might be fun." She replied much to Zak's dissapointment.

_'So much for saving what little was left of my dignity today...' _Zak thought bitterly to himself as he sighed and shook his head.

"There you see! Now we'd better hurry I'm sure the customers are getting impatient." Ralph said as walked down the long corridor leading the way to the back of the stage in the center of the resturant.

As they stood in the back of the large red curtain that hid them from the audience waiting for Tony and Ralph to introduce them Zak leaned over and whispered to Kia "We don't have to do this you know. We could back out now and save ourselves from this embarrassment."

"You're making it sound worse than it is. You should think better about it and get it over with. Who knows, you just might enjoy it." Kia whispered to him with a smile.

_Who knows? You just might enjoy it. _Kia's words echoed in his mind causing him to roll his eyes as he sarcastically thought back _Yeah right!_

From behind the curtain Zak and Kia could hear Tony and Ralph introduce them onto the stage giving them their cue as the curtain pulled back revealing them.

Instead of applause everyone in the crowd only stood and stared at them causing a small feeling of embarrassment to begin to form in Kia. She blushed a little as she felt her heart start to pound within in her chest. It seemed so loud that she wondered how it was possible no one else could hear it. Slowly the feeling of stage fright starting to come over her causing her to stand completely still and her eyes open wide unblinking.

Zak looked over at her noticing her starting to suffer from stage fright and sighed. _You can't be serious! You talk me into this and now you've got stage fright? Looks like it's time for Zak to save the day... _He thought to himself as he place a hand on her shoulder and whispered "You okay?"

"I-I think so..." Kia mumbled trying to shake away a little of her fear as Zak led her over to the two standing microphones waiting for them to use at the front of the stage.

"Okay listen there's a very simple and easy trick to get over stage fright?" He whispered to her.

"What's that?" she asks unable to take her eyes away from the crowd.

"Imagine the audience in their underwear." He told her trying not to smile as the thought gave him the urge to laugh.

"Ew. No. There has to be another one." Kia whispered back disgusted by the very thought.

"Okay then. Just look at me until you feel confident enough to look at the audience then." Zak told her instead as he pulled his microphone off the stand.

She nodded doing the same wishing her heart would stop racing within her chest. _You agreed to do this so you must go through with it. One song and then you'll be done._ She thought to herself trying to boost up her courage.

Knowing she was still much too nervous to start them off Zak decided to wing it with the very first thing he thought of hoping maybe she could wing it too and go along with it since it wasn't like they had time to prepare for this kind of thing anyway.

"_There's a fever inside me. It's taken hold somehow_

_I couldn't hide it if I tried._

_Oh. Ohh."_

Taking a deep breath and turning to face him, her blue eyes locking with his brown ones Kia joined in and sang

_ "I hear a song I never heard til now. I think I'm gonna take a chance tonight."_

Grateful she indeed knew how to wing it Zak saw his cue and joined in with her.

_All that I've been wait'n for, to turn the key and unlock the door._

Now singing together they added

"It's_ all so clear_

_So clear_

_Just stand'n here_

_I've finally found my way_

_So here's an invitation_

_Invitation_

_To my own celebration_

_On the wings of a dream In your eyes I can fly so high, on the wings of a dream, See me now as I touch the sky_

_Tonight's the night_

_My dreams come true_

_Yeah_

_You always said they would_

_Oooo_

_Watch me fly away_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_There's one burning ember_

_Ember_

_That's turn'n to a flame, Yeah, Now we got a shining light to guide us ohh yeah_

_Even live'n from day to day_

_Day to day_

_I hang onto my faith_

_Oh oh ohh_

_I never thought of letting go or giving in_

_The game is on and I wanna play I'll take my step cause' I'm here to say_

_From way up here the moons so clear the stars are in my sight._

_Well I'm never looking down, and never touch'n ground_

_On the wings of a dream_

_Yeah_

_In your eyes I can fly so high, On the wings of a dream, See me now as I touch the sky_

_Tonight's the night my dreams come true_

_Tomorrow I hear skies are blue_

_Watch me sail away,_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_If you only believe_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_Life is all that it seems_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On The wings of a dream, dream, dream_

_Dream, dream, dream_

_Dream, dream, dream_

_On The Wings of a dream"_

By the end of the song Kia and Zak had felt much more confident and had turned to face the audience really getting into the music and, though he would never admit it, Zak was actually enjoying himself.

The audience seemed to be blown away by their preformance as they clapped and cheered shouting for an encour.

"What do you say shall we give them what they want?" Zak asked her.

Kia nodded. "Just one more." She replied back with a smile. _This time I'll start us off _She told herself as she waited for the all noise to wind down to start again.

_"Sometimes it's hard to see what's been there all along."_

Following her cue Zak added

_"Sometimes we're sure of everything until we find out we were wrong."_

Joining together they sang

_"Now we're standing here, face to face_

_Nothing feels the same_

_For the first time I realize something I didn't see before_

_For the first time, looking in your eyes_

_Suddenly there's so much more_

_Something we both feel inside for the first time"_

Thinking about how she had met Zak and the day that they had had together so far Kia smiled as she added

_"How did we ever end up here?_

_I don't know but it feels so right"_

Not sure what to say next and trying to match the flow of the words Kia had just sung Zak added

_"The last thing I ever expected is happening._

_It's you and I."_

Joining together once more they sang

_"There's something real I can't explain_

_And nothing feels the same_

_For the first time I realize something I didn't see before_

_For the first time, looking in your eyes_

_Suddenly there's so much more_

_Something we both feel inside for the first time_

_I can't find the words_

_For how I feel about you_

_Just want to be around you now_

_I never imagined that someone could make me feel_

_The way you do_

_For the first time I realize something I didn't see before_

_For the first time, looking in your eyes_

_Suddenly there's so much more_

_Something we both feel inside for the first time_

_For the first time "_

After their preformance they smiled at each other taking their bows as the audience clapped and cheered for them and left the resturant ignoring what Tony and Ralph said to them on the way out.

Kia's mind was buzzing from the events of the day her heart racing once more but in a much nicer way.

As they walked towards Zak's apartment she thought about the lyrics they had made up and realized she had meant every word. Was it possible to fall in love that fast? She wondered. And did Zak feel the same way too? She was almost afraid to ask worrying that he might not because they had only just met a few hours ago.

But that didn't mean there wasn't hope right? _Thanks mom. If you never made me go through with this I never would've met Zak._ Kia thought to herself as Zak opened the door to the apartment using a key to unlock it and they went inside.

_OOC: On the Wings of A Dream and For the First time are lyrics from Spectacular which I do not claim to own of course ;3_


End file.
